AU Cover.qxp 1/2/2016 11:16 AM Page 1

34 Architecture Update January 2016

Industrial Designmetallic outlook

Text courtesy: Gianfranco Sangalli & Photographs courtesy: Massimo Crivellari

Building Fragments

The New Headquarters of Rubinetterie Bresciane Bonomi Brescia, Italy Gianfranco Sangalli

GGiiaannffrraannccoo SSaannggaallllii graduated in architecture from the

Istituto di Architettura di Venezia (IUAV) in 1975. He

started a professional collaboration with his thesis

advisor, Carlo Scarpa, immediately after his

graduation.

He soon opened his practice in Brescia, initially

focused on renovation and restoration of historical

building complexes. Parallelly, he collaborated with

large companies for designing chairs, furniture and

exhibition stands and was presented at prominent European fairs.

He has worked on multifarious projects ranging from residential, commercial, public

spaces, service industry, hospitals to town and country planning. He took part in the

conception of several urban plans for municipalities in the Provinces of Brescia,

Piacenza and Ferrara. He participated in several competitions and received

numerous awards.

collated with structural and aesthetical elements

34-38] Project_Rubinetterie Bresciane Bonomi in Brescia.qxp 12/31/2015 7:08 PM Page 34

Architecture Update January 2016 35

I

n Gussago, in the province of Brescia, the new management and

production site of Rubinetterie Bresciane Bonomi, leading

company in the production of valves and the first green company

in Lombardy, recently became operational. The industrial complex

is located in the locality of Mandalossa, along the route of the old

Padana Superiore SS11 highway and near the future slip road uniting

Brescia with Bergamo and Milan (Bre-Be-Mi).

The design of the complex, by Gianfranco Sangalli, includes the

construction of buildings used for manufacturing, covering a total of

53,300 sq m, is divided into the factory and the site used for offices and

services. This new headquarters provides Rubinetterie Bresciane

Bonomi with a work and production site in which to continue the

business started as far back as 1901.

The project is located on an area of 117,500 sq m instilling 23,400 sq m

of public spaces (20% of the total area), of which 16,600 sq m are given

over to green areas, car parks and adjoining roads. The new facility is

now comprised of a factory of around 30,000 sq m used for

manufacturing and as a warehouse, and a building, with a gross floor

area of around 4,200 sq m, equal to a covered floor space of around

1,300 sq m, used for related services and offices and with a remaining

covered floor space of 22,000 sq m available for the future expansion of

the company.

SPATIAL PLANNING

From a distribution perspective, this building is divided into two

sections: The first, reserved for services, is located on the eastern side

and has two floors above ground and a basement. On the ground floor,

The new management and

production site of Rubinetterie

Bresciane Bonomi in Brescia was

designed by Ar. Gianfranco

Sangalli. A project covering 53,300

sq m is divided into volumes

distinguished by extreme formal

clarity and construction quality

34-38] Project_Rubinetterie Bresciane Bonomi in Brescia.qxp 12/31/2015 7:08 PM Page 35

36 Architecture Update January 2016

divided by a corridor, are most of the changing rooms, services and

rooms used as the infirmary on one side, and on the other the kitchen

and the cafeteria, the latter being double-height.

Almost all the rooms on the ground floor are lit by strip windows of

60cm high, positioned between the floor slab of the first floor and the

wall below clad with modular fibre-cement panels both to hide the

functions performed inside from view and to reduce heat transmission

to a minimum and allow the building to obtain a high energy

classification. The same applies to the use of sheet-metal screening on

the surfaces with the most windows.

On the south side they permit maximum exploitation of the sun’s rays

in the winter and their partial or total neutralisation in the other seasons.

On the first floor there are accommodations for the caretakers with an

independent entrance from the outside and a relaxation room for staff

on one side, and on the other, the managers’ cafeteria and an

auditorium with annexed facilities. The basement is reserved

for technical equipment rooms and can

be entered from the road level via a ramp on the west side of

the building.

The second section, the operational area, has three floors. On the

ground floor, in addition to the reception, there are waiting rooms, a

meeting room and services. Here too, for both formal appearance and

energy containment reasons, the waiting rooms on the North and

South sides have the same strip windows and execution methods

found in the previous section. On the first floor are the operations,

commercial and administrative offices together with the relative

services. The top floor is reserved for the management.

a play of light and shadow; depth vs shallow

heterogeneity of materials

the structure is characterised by micro-perforated fretted sheet metal

34-38] Project_Rubinetterie Bresciane Bonomi in Brescia.qxp 12/31/2015 7:08 PM Page 36

The spaces, excluding the accessories and technical equipment or

servo rooms, have been arranged with walls set up to allow for

maximum flexibility.

A LIGHT METALLIC MESH UNIFORMLY COVERS THE LARGE

FACTORIES

The entire complex is characterised by the use of metallic elements. The

structure of the factories is made of steel in order to cover 40 m width

with a single span and expands the sawtooth roof areas. This has made

it possible to exploit the natural light on the vertical planes of the

sawtooth roof and extend the presence of photovoltaic panels arranged

on the inclined planes.

On the outside, a vast metallic texture made of micro-perforated

fretted sheet metal runs along all the perimeter surfaces. This cladding

exploits installation techniques and details that tend to accentuate the

horizontal dimensions of the volumes, counteracted only by the

vertical arrangement of the automated warehouse which is 17 m high.

The production units accordingly define the architectural wings

against which the office and services building stands out, positioned

along the road axis of the Padana Superiore highway which borders

the area.

THE STRUCTURAL FRAME, A PROMINENT FEATURE OF THE

NEW HEADQUARTERS

The building housing the services and offices is adjacent to the

factories it stands out against, then flexing until it lines up parallel with

the highway.

Unlike in the volumes that house the factories, here the expanded

metal mesh, detached from the wall structure and supported by a frame

made of steel rings, mainly runs in horizontal bands and is repeatedly

interrupted to make room for the main openings. A ventilated fibre-

cement wall protects the lowest part of the volume.

In the cafeteria area, the cladding has been almost entirely eliminated

as if there had been a sort of erosion of the primary mass, highlighting

the presence of the front patio and emphasising the large windows. At

the end of the building where the entrance area is located, the removal

of material from the building increases further leaving only the

structural frame on view.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The buildings’ heights are maintained low for visual connectivity with

the surrounding hills to the North (Colle della Santissima and Colle della

Stella). To comply with the environmental and hydrogeological

regulations, the complex design is worked in agreement with the

Superintendence for Architectural and Environmental Heritage of the

Provinces of Brescia, Cremona and Mantova.

The aesthetic choices for the factory have been directed to the

formalisation of a performing envelope for the building; to the air

tightness of the building; to the adoption of low temperature heating

systems based on heat pumps condensed with water at a constant

temperature throughout the year; to home automation for lighting

control; to power factor correction systems for electrical installations.

The panels that constitute the envelope of the factory have an inner

polyurethane insulation, 10cm thick. These “sandwich” like panels

insulate the building very effectively and made it possible for the building

to be rated as an energy class “A” (an equivalent of a LEED platinum).

The building also features a shed roof facing North, infusing natural

light into the interiors during the day, reducing to a minimum the heat

Architecture Update January 2016 37

34-38] Project_Rubinetterie Bresciane Bonomi in Brescia.qxp 12/31/2015 7:08 PM Page 37

38 Architecture Update January 2016

determined by transparent elements facing the other cardinal points

which, in the specific case, are still shielded by a second "skin"

distanced from the panels and made of corrugated perforated

aluminum sheet.

The office building is heated with radiant floor. The thermal energy is

generated by a series of heat pumps using ground water. Similarly, in

summers the water table releases the cooling energy to the floor, thus

allowing a suitable temperature to work also in the hot summer days.

The building's energy consumption amounts to about 5.5 kWh/mca.

The factory is equipped with a photovoltaic system by 0.99 MW peak.

The heating is supplied with cooled heat pumps with ground water.

MATERIAL CHOICES

The highest chromatic and materic homogeneity are adapted both for

the interior and the exterior of the building.

EExxtteerriioorrss ((tthhee ffaaccttoorryy aanndd tthhee ooffffiiccee bbuuiillddiinngg))::

It is designed by micro-perforated fretted sheet metal for the factory and

expanded metal mesh for the office building, highlighting the distinct

purpose of the buildings – a sort of “brain” and “body” dichotomy for

the factory (where things are produced) and the office building (where

things are designed, planned and managed).

IInntteerriioorrss::

It’s is worked with chromatic differences based on various functions.

Wood is used as a noble finishing for managerial offices and for all

representative spaces. It is also employed in the auditorium so as to

better respond to acoustic requirements. In auditorium, especially, the

soundproof panels are made of MDF blades that are then veneered.

Their high performances respond to the theory of Helmholtz resonators

and to the dissipation of sound through porosity. The panels employed

in the auditorium combine high soundproof performance and high

levels of safety and healthiness.

The colour hues of the other spaces are in white with touch of blue, the

brand colour for Rubinetterie Bresciane. Blue is used, for example, on

the perimeter bands in the cafeteria or in the details of the reception

desk and of the office furniture. Blue is also used on some other pieces

of furniture, like the fabric of the armchairs and the front of the

speakers’ desk in the auditorium or the chairs in the cafeteria. !

ffaacctt ffiillee::

client : Rubinetterie Bresciane, Gruppo Bonomi

location : Municipality of Gussago, Province of Brescia,

Italy

site construction supervision : Studio Cominotti, Brescia, Italy

artistic direction : Ar. Gianfranco Sangalli, Brescia, Italy

ssttrruuccttuurraall eennggiinneeeerriinngg

concrete : Ing. Alessandro Cominotti, Brescia, Italy

steel : Ing. Luca Paderno, Cossirano (Brescia), Italy

mechanical and electrical

engineering : Ing. Giovanni Ziletti, Brescia, Italy

contractor : Impresa Arici F.lli Srl, Gussago (Brescia), Italy

mechanical systems : Marco Lugli Impianti, Lumezzane (Brescia), Italy

electrical systems : Elgen Srl, Paderno Franciacorta (Brescia), Italy

steel carpentry : Pitra Sas, Cossirano (Brescia), Italy

ventilated facades, exterior

insulation and finishing

system (EIFS) : Gips, Consorzio Costruzioni a Secco, Trento, Italy

ddoooorrss aanndd wwiinnddoowwss

Pitra Sas, Cossirano (Brescia), Italy

Realizzata con trafilati Metra Spa, Rodengo Saiano (Brescia), Italy

ffuurrnniittuurree

equipment of

operational rooms : Mascagni Spa, Casalecchio di Reno (Bologna),

Italy

equipment of managerial

offices and lighting : Arredamenti Riva Spa, Brescia, Italy

pprrooggrraamm aanndd ddiimmeennssiioonnss

factory : 30,000 sq m

offices and facilities : 4,200 sq m

sscchheedduullee

project : 2010-2013

end of construction : 2015

surfaces and colours are in tune with the acoustical requirements

playfulness in spatial volumes tinge of blue accentuating the spatial layout

34-38] Project_Rubinetterie Bresciane Bonomi in Brescia.qxp 12/31/2015 7:08 PM Page 38